GAME has left administration after less than a week.
Investment firm OpCapita negotiated a sale of the company's UK assets to Baker Acquisitions Limited, bringing GAME Group out of administration and providing it with the necessary capital to continue trading over the near future. Baker has confirmed there are no more plans for future store closures, very good news indeed for the chain's roster of over 3,200 employees.
In related news, former Gamestation managing director Martyn Gibbs has been appointed as the chain's new CEO after the departure of Ian Shepherd last week.
Here's hoping the new injection of capital and management change can get new games back on store shelves.
Comments 15
According to this article, all the closed down stores will be reopening and they will all be under one name but it is unconfirmed what that name will be yet. Anyway, I think this is great news as without these stores there would be no dedicated gaming stores in the UK.
Where does it say that closed stores will be reopening? I read:
"The firm is taking control of 333 stores across the Game and Gamestation brands, but GameSpot understands that following a relaunch all the stores will begin operating under the same name"
That refers to the number of open stores — closed stores will stay closed, sadly.
This is really great/sad news to hear. Shame that some 2,000 people are unable to get their previous job at game back, and I hope the best for all of them.
EB games is heaps better anyway in Oz you walk into GAME here and 95% of the store is dedicated to PS360 and 200 copies of the same used games. hopefully that changes with the buy-out.
@James I thought they meant the closed stores were reopening by relaunching. Well, at least this means the remaining stores won't be shut down.
Hopefully the new owners will understand that it won't fly to take the piss from the customers like before and start offering us good deals.
Are there any news about the online store?
@tat2 Online and trading as of last Thursday I believe!
Well, that's good news for the employees, but too little to late for me. I could see walking in off the street to do the odd trade, but my pre-orders are going to stay with The Hut and Amazon, I'm afraid.
Good news for those still clinging to their jobs! I hope it goes well for them and they're able to regain what customers they've lost
I really hope those people get their jobs back. No one deserves to be unemployed.
I'm so relieved for the employees! Despite what people are saying or thinking about GAME charging too much for their stock, I have never had a bad experience when I'v stepped into a GAME store. I buy the majority of my games online because it's true that it's cheaper but having the presence of a specialised game store on the high street is very important for the industry too as the fact that it is a physical building, housing physical products that you can pick up, touch, look at and admire with the optional CHOICE to make a purchase straight away always beats looking at screenshots and demos online and after buying it, waiting 2-3 days for delivery. The store isn't there to sell cheap games to Penny-Pincher-Paul-Public, it's there to make a profit (as do ALL shops) but most importantly for us gamers, it is a central hub for gamers to gather whether you're a hardcore or casual player, long term veterans or first-time newbies. Also it's there for the special little things such as a point of call on major game launch days for the fans to come together to meet and befriend like-minded individuals, sharing their passion for being the first to get their hands on something they consider special and it's also for the small base of unusual customers, the grandmothers and grandfathers who wish to purchase the right game for their grandchildren, the girlfriend or boyfriend who wants to find something for their other half and needing advice as they know absolutely nothing about games and the young children who take their parents to show them the right game to buy for their birthday. Specialised shops aren't there to compete with online prices, on that subject there is no contest, it's there for so much more. You can spend as much time browsing the shelves and probably messing it up, touching the boxes, playing any available demos, talking to the staff, ask as many inane questions as possible before you drop £150 into their hands for that super special limited edition game with the dragon statue, but the best thing is that at the end of all that, you can still just walk away, hopefully with a bit more knowledge and a solid idea of what you want and buy it online for a cheaper price. Yes, the cheaper price always wins out but I bet you won't get such an enthusiastic and knowledgeable service sitting in front of the computer browsing on Amazone, HMC and Pray.com. I know that there are stores that will always sell games if GAME went out of business but I don't know about you, but if I wanted to spend £40 on a newly released game, I'd rather buy it from someone who actually knows, understands or appreciates games than clerk no.9 behind the check-out counter at Pesco's. I'm happy that GAME will be staying around for the foreseeable future. Whether the company name changes or stays the same, I hope the friendly staff and their happy customer service stays the same.
@ninjanna That's the most consistant block of text I have ever seen on the internets... I think my eyes nearly bled!
Ok, so I remember the days when GAME stores were Electronics Boutique, however this is going back in the day were the shelves had PC games and then I remember picking up this huge (cause it came with the guide book) red box, which said "SUPER METROID" on it. Man, those were the days.
In either case, they need to offer more customer incentives like ShopTo.net. Reward customers with more deals as opposed to just a store credit/points system which equates to the consumer buying far too many games to trade back nothing at all.
With the advent of future consoles POSSIBLY packing a DRM which rejects used copies, they NEED to start thinking about giving incentives to the consumer...or refuse to sell consoles with the latter mentioned DRM!
Honestly, as small and niche the PC market has become day-by-day, it's a market which has stayed true and loyal and has always been the most consistant since Day 1, they shouldn't have turned their backs on them.
I don't expect them to match price with online, but I do expect them to stock titles which are on the radar of the fans. Even before this meltdown there were problems. Not carrying Muramasa and eventually refusing to stock any Rising Star titles at all? What the hell was that? Other 3rd party titles deliberately available only for purchase online, without even the option to pick-up in-store for convenience?
If it's a game shop it should bloody well stock a broader selection of new releases and not just a massive selection of used titles. At a minimum I'd expect local publishers like Rising Star to be supported and promoted, otherwise the value of a local chain of specialty shops is lost on me.
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